Beloved Hale County doctor Chester Singleton dies at 84

Doctor ran first racially integrated practice in Greensboro for 40 years.

Dr. Chester Singleton died Monday at 84.

Contributed photo

By Stephanie TaylorStaff Writer

Published: Friday, March 29, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, March 28, 2013 at 11:37 p.m.

Generations of Greensboro residents remember Dr. Chester Singleton as the doctor who did more than just treat patients. He took time to get to know the people he treated in the community that he loved.

Singleton, 84, died Monday in the wing of Hale County Hospital that bears his name.

He retired in 2000 after opening the first racially integrated practice in Greensboro, which he ran for more than 40 years. The doctor made house calls throughout his career, and preferred the pace of a small-town life and career to that of a larger city.

“He not only made house calls, but would often be called on for other duties when he got there,” said Peggy Singleton, his wife of 33 years. “Once, there was a lady who couldn’t get a plumber to come out, so he fixed her sink after he treated her.”

Singleton was born in the Cherokee County town of Centre, where he grew up picking cotton and driving a tractor on his family’s farm. He knew he didn’t want to pick cotton for the rest of his life, his wife said, so he pursued a career in medicine.

Singleton was well-loved by his patients and delivered babies who were named after him, Peggy Singleton said, including Chester Braggs, who played football at the University of Alabama in the 1980s.

“I’ve seen him do everything from deliver a baby to pilot an airplane,” said his daughter Abby Wadsworth.

Wadsworth said that she often accompanied her father when he made house calls.

“That was one of the ways I spent time with him,” she said. “It was enough to prove to me that I didn’t want to be a doctor, after seeing how hard he worked.”

It was rare for the family to get through a dinner without a phone call, which he always gladly answered, she said. On weekends, the family went to a camp house on the Black Warrior River, where Singleton taught the kids to water ski. He could ski with people on his shoulders, or with the rope behind his neck and no hands. He was a “rabid” UA football fan, Wadsworth said, and took her to games in Tuscaloosa from the time she was 4.

Although he ran his own practice, Singleton would volunteer to work on call at the Hale County Hospital, and treat people who weren’t his patients, without payment.

“He saw that as part of his duty of practicing medicine,” Wadsworth said.

Debra Gentry, a nurse for Hale County Home Health who worked for Singleton for 21 years, said that Singleton truly cared about his patients and the people who worked for him.

“It was a privilege to have worked with him for 21 years,” she said. “He was a boss, a friend and a father figure, too. He was the kind of person who never left you without telling a joke.”

She, too, mentioned his intense love of Alabama football, and the friendly bets he made with Auburn friends before Iron Bowls. Gentry, an Auburn fan, said she dreaded the ribbing she faced on Monday mornings after an Alabama Iron Bowl victory. Singleton was able to put people at ease, she said, because he knew when to joke and when to be serious.

“Everyone loved him,” she said. “If he was walking out of the office and someone came up, he’d go back, open the door and say, ‘Come on in.’ He remembered everyone who had crossed his path and had so many friends. He lived a wonderful life.”

Singleton’s wife said that his love of learning continued into his last years. He took violin lessons in his late 70s, his wife said, “until he realized he wasn’t cut out for it.”

“He never mastered the computer either, but he took classes at the Hale County Library during his last year,” she said.

Singleton took other senior adult classes at Shelton State Community College, she said, including public speaking and drawing.

“One of the highlights of his life was participating in the Tuscaloosa Mayor’s 5K race when he was 83,” Singleton said. “His friend Sharon Jay accompanied him, and they might have been dragging by the end, but they finished it.”

His stepdaughter Diana Arrington cared for Singleton as his health failed in recent months.

“I would take him his favorite catfish from Nick’s and steak from Mustang Oil,” she said. “Toward the end, all he wanted was green grapes and cheese straws.”

Singleton’s popularity in the community was evident after his death as people stopped by the family’s home bringing what Peggy Singleton described as enough food to eat for a month. Monty Wilson, whose mother used to draw blood at Singleton’s office, dropped by with a note, she said.

“I knew your husband to be a man dedicated to his profession, with a compassion for all people that transcended race or social status,” she read from Wilson’s note. “He was also a man of humor who enjoyed both hearing and telling a good joke now and then.”

His wife said that while he was hospitalized, he liked to sneak out of his room and across the building to the emergency room to see what was going on. She spoke to some of the nurses on duty Monday, when he died.

“He had walked across the hall and drank from the water fountain and told them it was the best water he’d ever had. He told someone that he was going home that day,” Peggy Singleton said. “The nurse later went in to give him his medicine, and he had indeed gone home — his heavenly home.”

Singleton was the father of three children. He had four step-children, eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

<p>Generations of Greensboro residents remember Dr. Chester Singleton as the doctor who did more than just treat patients. He took time to get to know the people he treated in the community that he loved. </p><p>Singleton, 84, died Monday in the wing of Hale County Hospital that bears his name.</p><p>He retired in 2000 after opening the first racially integrated practice in Greensboro, which he ran for more than 40 years. The doctor made house calls throughout his career, and preferred the pace of a small-town life and career to that of a larger city.</p><p>“He not only made house calls, but would often be called on for other duties when he got there,” said Peggy Singleton, his wife of 33 years. “Once, there was a lady who couldn't get a plumber to come out, so he fixed her sink after he treated her.”</p><p>Singleton was born in the Cherokee County town of Centre, where he grew up picking cotton and driving a tractor on his family's farm. He knew he didn't want to pick cotton for the rest of his life, his wife said, so he pursued a career in medicine.</p><p>Singleton was well-loved by his patients and delivered babies who were named after him, Peggy Singleton said, including Chester Braggs, who played football at the University of Alabama in the 1980s.</p><p>“I've seen him do everything from deliver a baby to pilot an airplane,” said his daughter Abby Wadsworth.</p><p>Wadsworth said that she often accompanied her father when he made house calls.</p><p>“That was one of the ways I spent time with him,” she said. “It was enough to prove to me that I didn't want to be a doctor, after seeing how hard he worked.”</p><p>It was rare for the family to get through a dinner without a phone call, which he always gladly answered, she said. On weekends, the family went to a camp house on the Black Warrior River, where Singleton taught the kids to water ski. He could ski with people on his shoulders, or with the rope behind his neck and no hands. He was a “rabid” UA football fan, Wadsworth said, and took her to games in Tuscaloosa from the time she was 4.</p><p>Although he ran his own practice, Singleton would volunteer to work on call at the Hale County Hospital, and treat people who weren't his patients, without payment.</p><p>“He saw that as part of his duty of practicing medicine,” Wadsworth said.</p><p>Debra Gentry, a nurse for Hale County Home Health who worked for Singleton for 21 years, said that Singleton truly cared about his patients and the people who worked for him.</p><p>“It was a privilege to have worked with him for 21 years,” she said. “He was a boss, a friend and a father figure, too. He was the kind of person who never left you without telling a joke.”</p><p>She, too, mentioned his intense love of Alabama football, and the friendly bets he made with Auburn friends before Iron Bowls. Gentry, an Auburn fan, said she dreaded the ribbing she faced on Monday mornings after an Alabama Iron Bowl victory. Singleton was able to put people at ease, she said, because he knew when to joke and when to be serious.</p><p>“Everyone loved him,” she said. “If he was walking out of the office and someone came up, he'd go back, open the door and say, 'Come on in.' He remembered everyone who had crossed his path and had so many friends. He lived a wonderful life.” </p><p>Singleton's wife said that his love of learning continued into his last years. He took violin lessons in his late 70s, his wife said, “until he realized he wasn't cut out for it.”</p><p>“He never mastered the computer either, but he took classes at the Hale County Library during his last year,” she said.</p><p>Singleton took other senior adult classes at Shelton State Community College, she said, including public speaking and drawing.</p><p>“One of the highlights of his life was participating in the Tuscaloosa Mayor's 5K race when he was 83,” Singleton said. “His friend Sharon Jay accompanied him, and they might have been dragging by the end, but they finished it.”</p><p>His stepdaughter Diana Arrington cared for Singleton as his health failed in recent months.</p><p>“I would take him his favorite catfish from Nick's and steak from Mustang Oil,” she said. “Toward the end, all he wanted was green grapes and cheese straws.”</p><p>Singleton's popularity in the community was evident after his death as people stopped by the family's home bringing what Peggy Singleton described as enough food to eat for a month. Monty Wilson, whose mother used to draw blood at Singleton's office, dropped by with a note, she said. </p><p>“I knew your husband to be a man dedicated to his profession, with a compassion for all people that transcended race or social status,” she read from Wilson's note. “He was also a man of humor who enjoyed both hearing and telling a good joke now and then.”</p><p>His wife said that while he was hospitalized, he liked to sneak out of his room and across the building to the emergency room to see what was going on. She spoke to some of the nurses on duty Monday, when he died. </p><p>“He had walked across the hall and drank from the water fountain and told them it was the best water he'd ever had. He told someone that he was going home that day,” Peggy Singleton said. “The nurse later went in to give him his medicine, and he had indeed gone home — his heavenly home.”</p><p>Singleton was the father of three children. He had four step-children, eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.</p><p>Services will be held at Greensboro Baptist Church at 11 a.m. today.</p><p>Reach Stephanie Taylor at stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0210.</p>